Open calls and artist residencies: landing your spot

01Understanding what juries are looking for

Selection juries for residencies and open calls receive hundreds, sometimes thousands of applications. Their task is an exercise in rapid elimination: the majority of files are discarded within the first minutes of reading. Understanding what holds a jury's attention is therefore essential.

The first criterion is the coherence between your project and the residency's mission. A residency focused on digital arts will not select a canvas painting project, even if your work is excellent. Before applying, read the residency description carefully, its artistic line, the artists who have previously stayed there. If your work does not match, do not waste your time and the jury's.

The second criterion is the quality of the visual portfolio. The images of your works are the first point of contact with the jury. Blurry, poorly lit or badly framed images send a signal of amateurism that penalises your application before the text is even read.

The third criterion is clarity of intention. The jury wants to understand what you will do during the residency, why this specific place is relevant to your project, and what you hope to gain from it. A vague or generic project along the lines of "I want to explore new directions" convinces no one.

02Where to find open calls

Identifying opportunities requires regular monitoring. Several platforms centralise announcements of residencies and open calls at the international level. ResArtis brings together a network of over 600 residency centres worldwide. TransArtists, managed by the DutchCulture Centre, offers a detailed search engine by country, discipline and hosting conditions. In France, the CNAP regularly publishes announcements for residencies and grants.

Social media are a useful complement. Many residencies announce their calls on their accounts, and specialised accounts relay this information. Groups and forums dedicated to emerging artists also share these opportunities. In France, the Ministry of Culture publishes a newsletter listing open calls and residencies funded by the regional DRACs. Art schools often maintain lists of opportunities accessible to their alumni.

Monitoring must be systematic. Set yourself a weekly slot, for example one hour every Monday morning, to browse the platforms and note deadlines in a calendar. Application deadlines are often several months before the start of the residency, and missing them means waiting another year. Create a simple spreadsheet with the residency name, deadline, conditions and your application status. This document will become an invaluable management tool over the months. Some artists devote up to twenty per cent of their working time to researching opportunities and preparing applications. This is not time wasted: it is an investment in the infrastructure of your career, on a par with time spent in the studio.

03Building a solid application file

The application file generally comprises a visual portfolio, an artist statement, an artistic CV, a description of the proposed project and sometimes letters of recommendation. Each element must be treated with equal care.

The visual portfolio should present between ten and twenty images of your most recent and most representative works. The order of images matters: start with your strongest pieces. The jury may not look beyond the fifth image if the first ones are not convincing.

The project description is the most specific element of the file. It should answer four questions: what will you create, how will you create it, why is this residency the ideal framework for this project, and what will the outcome be at the end of the residency. Be precise without being rigid: the jury knows that artistic work evolves and is not asking for a day-by-day plan, but it wants to feel that you have a clear direction.

Christian Boltanski, who participated in many residencies throughout his career, insisted on the importance of thinking of the residency as a dialogue with a place. The project is not imported from the outside: it is born from the encounter between the artist and the specific context of the residency.

Letters of recommendation, when required, must come from people who genuinely know your work: an art school professor, a curator who has programmed you, a recognised artist who follows your practice. A generic letter from a friend who merely says you are talented carries no weight. The quality of your recommendations reflects the solidity of your professional network.

04Mistakes that result in immediate elimination

The first mistake is failing to follow instructions. If the call requests a PDF of ten pages maximum, sending a thirty-page file guarantees immediate elimination. Juries interpret failure to follow instructions as a lack of professionalism.

The second mistake is the generic application. Sending the same file to twenty residencies without adapting it to each one is transparent to juries. A cover letter that does not even mention the name of the residency reveals a mass approach that convinces no one.

The third mistake is lack of proofreading. Spelling errors, broken links to an online portfolio, poor quality images: these details signal a lack of care that works against you.

The fourth mistake is overvaluing your work. Presenting your few group exhibitions as major events or describing your three-year career as exceptional damages your credibility. Juries prefer lucidity to grandiloquence.

The fifth mistake is sending originals. Never send original works with your application, even if the call does not explicitly state this. The portfolio is always digital or in reproduction. Originals only travel when you are selected and the insurance and transport conditions have been clarified.

05After selection: maximising the residency

Being selected for a residency is only the beginning. Residency time is precious and limited: between a few weeks and a few months depending on the programme. To get the most from it, prepare your stay in advance.

Research the artists who are or will be in residence at the same time as you. Exchanges between residents are often the most enriching part of the experience. Cornelia Parker has described how some of her most fertile ideas were born from informal conversations with other artists during residencies.

Document your work systematically: photographs, notes, a logbook. These documents will serve you for the end-of-residency presentation, for future applications and for feeding your communications. An artist who leaves a residency with twenty quality images and a text about the experience has content that will fuel their communication for months.

Also take advantage of the infrastructure provided. If the residency offers a studio equipped with a ceramics kiln or a printmaking press that you do not have at home, this is the opportunity to experiment with techniques you could not explore otherwise. Some of the most fertile evolutions in an artist's work are born from encountering a new tool or material, and the residency is the ideal setting for this exploration.

06Types of residencies and how to choose

Artist residencies are not all identical. Some offer full funding: accommodation, studio, per diem and sometimes a production budget. The Villa Medici in Rome, the Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto and the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris fall into this category. Others require a financial contribution from the artist in exchange for access to a workspace and a stimulating environment. Others still provide only the space, and it is up to the artist to fund their stay.

The choice must correspond to your financial situation and your objectives. If you need time to produce without financial pressure, aim for fully funded residencies, knowing that they are also the most competitive. If you are primarily seeking a change of environment and a network, a residency with a contribution can be a good compromise. The artist Tania Bruguera has participated in dozens of residencies across every continent, and she has always insisted that the primary selection criterion should be the relevance of the place and programme to your project, not the prestige of the institution.

07Residencies as a professional network

Beyond creation time, the residency inserts you into a network. Residency directors know curators, dealers, public collection managers. The artists you meet in residence become colleagues, sometimes collaborators, always contacts. Some of the most productive duos and collectives in contemporary art formed during residencies.

Phyllida Barlow often spoke of how connections forged during her years of residency and teaching nourished a network that supported her career for decades, well before her late international recognition. Wolfgang Tillmans similarly built his international network partly through residencies and the exchanges they enabled. Relationships formed in an informal setting, over a meal or a studio discussion, are often more solid than those made at official events.

Maintain these contacts after the residency. Send news of your work, share opportunities you discover, congratulate others on their successes. The professional network is a garden cultivated over the long term.

08Building your visibility between residencies with Artedusa

Residencies are intense but punctual moments. Between two residencies, your work continues and your visibility must be maintained. Artedusa allows you to show the works produced during your residencies, document your journey and remain accessible to the professionals and collectors following your evolution. Each residency adds a layer to your story, Artedusa tells it. Present your journey at artedusa.com.